Travel Essentials Blog

by Nancy Bestor

A friend recently asked if US citizens really need six months left on their passport’s expiration date when traveling abroad. When researching the answer, it wasn’t long before I realized that there is quite a bit of conflicting information on the internet regarding this very issue. Here’s the background.

Several years ago, the U.S. State Department issued a notice warning that many countries now require US passports to be valid for at least six months beyond the date of your trip. In other words, if you are traveling in June, your passport expiration date must be no earlier than December. The State Department website goes on to say that some airlines will not allow you to board if this requirement is not met. When I tried to determine which countries are included in this six-month rule, I got very confused. The information on Spain offers an example. One site listed Spain as requiring six months, while another said that Spain required only three months of remaining validity on a US passport. I could not find the “official” word anywhere about this issue. 

So, my advice to my friend was this – don’t try to travel to ANY COUNTRY with a passport that has less than six months until its expiration. It is also best to be proactive and have a new passport issued before you reach the “six-month” threshold. You never know when an impromptu, great opportunity to travel in another country will to present itself. Don’t find yourself in a situation where you have to say no because your passport will expire in four months, five months, or just under six months. Check the expiration date on your passport wherever it may be, (and may I advise you keep it in a fireproof box or safe?) and write a reminder on your calendar to renew it when you have eight to 12 months left before expiration. And remember, adult passports are valid for 10 years, but if your child received a passport when they were age 15 or under, their passport is only good for five years. For more information on how to renew your passport, click here.

by Nancy Bestor

As I think back on the hotels in which we’ve stayed over the years, I realize it’s not the fancy ones that stick out in my mind. It’s not the dumpy ones either—the truth is, I try really hard to forget those. No, the hotels I remember best are those with character. The places where the owner is engaging, or you feel like you are visiting someone’s home, or perhaps the town hot spot, where the locals gather to sing karaoke.

On our recent trip to Belize, we were lucky enough to stay in a lodge overlooking the New River in Orange Walk that was “the” spot for locals to hang out. The Lamanai Riverside Retreat was also the place for wannabe Lionel Ritchies to belt out the lyrics to Hello. Turns out it was also the place for a semi-professional Belizian basketball team, coached by the hotel owner’s son, to meet up before their big playoff game, and then sleep on the floor of the band room after the victory. It was the place locals gather after work on a Friday and buy beer for everyone in the restaurant, including the two foreigners. It was also the place for the Retreat’s owner, Mr. P., to play his electric guitar with a friend on drums, in his band/rec room off the dining area. There we were, eating dinner in the beautiful open air restaurant on our first night at the resort, listening to the techno music coming out of the juke box, only to have it be drowned out by Mr. P’s band. Sounds crazy I know, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

We booked a room for our family of four ($50 a night, for all four of us) at the Lamanai after reading its description in the Rough Guide for Belize. “This relaxing retreat takes full advantage of Orange Walk’s prime perch on the New River. The (three) wooden cabanas are simple (with hot water and a/c), but the surroundings make the place, wake up to birds chirping and the gentle rush of the river, followed by a tasty breakfast served on the open air deck of the restaurant.” I agree with the Rough Guide’s description and recommendation, but it was the Lodge’s character and the people we met there that made this spot memorable for me. One friendly ex-pat, who liked hanging out at the Lamanai in the evenings, enthusiastically told us about the pending basketball game, and offered to drive us there. How could we refuse? Another local, the one who bought us beers at dinner, tried to get us to come to his house, saying he liked to party, and his wife would be delighted if we came home with him (we politely declined).

Mr. P was kind enough to offer his cell phone when we needed to make calls to hotels for our next stop and his laptop computer when we needed to check email or look up information. He booked us a terrific tour to the fantastic Mayan ruins of Lamanai and always had plenty of cold beer at the ready.

Oftentimes a hotel acts as a refuge from the trip. But the best hotels are those that end up an integral and memorable part of the journey. From a warm greeting upon our arrival to Mr. P’s pinpoint instructions for catching the local’s bus to our next destination upon our departure, the Lamanai Riverside Retreat provided us a memorable experience. And it only took a few hours to get the Karaoke version of Hello out of our heads.

by Nancy Bestor

On a recent trip from Medford, Oregon to Chicago, Bob and I made the conscious decision to pack light and carry our bags on all our flights. We didn’t want to pay what would amount to $50 each to check our bags on United both ways, and neither did we want to wait in Chicago or Medford for our bags to come down the carousel (is it just me, or does it take wayyyy longer for checked bags to come out at the small Medford Airport than it does at other airports?). We had the right sized liquid bottles, packed into our one-quart ziploc bags, we had legal carry on sized suitcases, we did not have knives, meat cleavers, ice picks or baseball bats. In other words, we did everything right to be able to carry on our bags.

A small pinprick of worry entered my mind when boarding our plane from San Francisco to Chicago. It seems every overhead bin was “already full.” All the bins around our row were closed, apparently full with other travelers’ bags. We asked a flight attendant for help in finding a spot and he said “you’re just going to have to put that under your seat.” It was a 22” rollaboard suitcase. HELLO! There was no way that sucker was fitting under the seat. We took the initiative and starting opening bins around us, even though some of fellow travelers gave us the death stare. Lo and behold, a bin very near our row was not even close to HALF full, let alone all the way full. We were easily able to put our rollaboards in that bin. Why some travelers are unwilling to share overhead bin space is beyond me. Do they think I am going to break their valuables, or worse, steal their valuables? Or perhaps did their kindergarten teacher just not teach them the fine art of sharing?

So we carried our bags on the way to Chicago, and were able to walk off the plane at O’Hare and bypass the baggage carousel entirely. The way home, however, was a different story. We got in line to board our flight from Chicago to Denver when they called our row, but alas, even though only half the people had boarded, the bins were full. The flight attendants would not even let us try and find our own overhead space. They checked our bags at the plane’s door, and sadly we had to wait at the Medford airport for what always seems like an eternity for the bags to come off the carousel. We didn’t have to pay the checked bag fee, which is some consolation, but more and more people are definitely carrying on their bags, making it hard for everyone to find space in the overhead bin.

Coincidentally, upon returning from Chicago I read in an Associated Press article that due to increased checked-baggage fees, the subsequent increase in carry-on baggage volume at TSA security checkpoints is costing taxpayers $260 million a year. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano was asked at a Senate Committee Hearing recently if airlines shouldn’t be picking up some of these costs, instead of taxpayers. Seems like a good idea to me. The AP went on to report that the airline industry posted its first moneymaking year since 2007, and the government estimates that the country’s eight largest airlines are likely to earn more than $5 billion this year and $5.6 billion in 2012 in part due to rising fees. The truth is, if airlines end up paying for the increased TSA security due to their new fees for checked baggage, airlines will probably just start charging for carry-on bags. The truth hurts.

by Nancy Bestor

I love good food. I love to cook it, I love to order it, and I love to eat it.  I also love the Bravo television show Top Chef. Yes, I know, it is reality television. But I like to think it is civilized reality television (no comments from the peanut gallery please). So it was with great delight on a recent trip to Chicago that Bob and I were able to eat at Rick Bayless’ popular Frontera Grill. An award winning chef and cookbook author, Mr. Bayless is well-known for his authentic yet inventive Mexican cuisine. A former Top Chef Master competitor, Bayless currently stars in the PBS’ show Mexico-One Plate at a Time.

Hailed by many as the best restaurant in Chicago, Bob and I decided to head to Frontera on a Friday night, without a reservation. Many reviewers on Yelp, an online rating and review website, said they could not get a reservation at Frontera for months. Throwing caution to the wind, and knowing we were perfectly happy to wait in the bar with a drink, or three, until a table was ready, we arrived at Frontera about 7pm and were told our wait would be an hour and a half.

Undaunted, we headed into the crowded bar and ordered Blood Orange Margaritas, one of many seasonal margaritas on the menu. This delicious concoction featured fresh-squeezed Beck Grove organic blood orange juice, Cointreau, Cazadores blanco tequila, and fresh-squeezed lime juice for $11. A great start to the evening. Things only improved from there. (You might be wondering if it was because I drank several more seasonal margaritas and was feeling no pain. I’ll never tell.) Our one and a half hour wait turned out to be just 50 minutes (I like that – under promising and over delivering).

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by Bob Bestor

My wife, Nancy, sporting her Cicada in Belize.

The more I travel the more realize that, when packing, less is more. I always feel like it’s a small victory to fit everything for any trip, even those over three weeks long, into a 22 x 14 x 9 inch maximum carry-on bag. And I always get home and realize that there were a couple of items, whether shirts, pants or whatever, that I lugged halfway around the world and carried for three weeks, yet never used. So recently I decided to see just how little I could get away with.

The goal was to travel eight days in the sultry, tropical climate of Belize; sunning, swimming, snorkeling, boating, and hiking, with everything – every stitch of clothing, every electronic device, all my toiletries,  all my reading material and more – in a single daypack.

I chose the Cicada 22L ($120) from Eagle Creek for the job. The Cicada is a classic daypack size, 12 x 18.5 x 7 inches. It’s a bit smaller than the daypacks my high school kids carry, with a volume of 1350 cubic inches (22 liters). The Cicaca offers both a waterproof bottom panel (great if sitting the backpack in a puddle) and a waterproof and lockable “split wing” cover that pulls over the pack, making it great for rainy days and wet boats.

When traveling light it’s all about versatility, organization and efficiency, and the Cicada features an array of pockets and compartments that allow for excellent organization and very efficient packing. (more…)

Springtime is a great season for arts, crafts and culture throughout the country. If you’re looking for fine art, good food, local wines, crafts for sale or just something to do on a Saturday, check out these exhibits and shows, taking place around the United States.

Ceramics Showcase
Portland, OR. At the end of April, the Oregon Convention Center in Portland will be hosting the 2011 Ceramic Showcase, the nation’s largest show and sale of pottery, sculpture, garden art and anything you can imagine being made of clay. The show runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 29 – May 1, and will feature more than 150 artists. The show will also feature live music from the Pete Krebs Trio, a wine bar to taste a selection of Oregon wines,  an “Adult Clay Area” where you can try your hand at the pottery wheel or hand sculpting, with experienced teachers to help you out. You’ll also find a children’s “Play Clay” area for the little ones to create something as well. For more information, visit the Ceramic Showcase 2011 Homepage.

Gertrude Stein Exhibit
San Francisco, CA. In the Early 20th century, Gertrude Stein was living in Paris and collecting and displaying amazing art with her brothers, Leo and Michael, and Michael’s wife Sara. Alongside friends like well-known Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso, this amazing family helped to shape the Parisian art world for years. Opening May 21 in San Francisco, a new exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art will reunite the Steins’  historic art collections for the first time in more than 40 years -featuring dozens of works by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Paul Cézanne, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and many others. Read more on the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s website.

Festival of Nations
Saint Paul, MN. Minnesota’s celebration of diversity and culture, the Festival of Nations, the state’s largest and longest-running cultural festival, will take place May 5 – 8 this year, at the Saint Paul River Centre. More than ninety ethnic groups and cultures will participate in this annual festival’s 79th edition, which features dozens of food booths, more than 100 dance ensembles and lots of music, providing continuous entertainment across three stages. The festival also showcases a global bazaar of multicultural items and demonstrations by artisans. Visit www.festivalofnations.com for more information.

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How safe is it to travel abroad? It seems lately that we are bombarded with stories from the media about disasters and political unrest from all around the world. Customers regularly ask us if, considering recent news of murder, drug trafficking and robbery in (insert name of country here), it is really safe to visit. While I’m the first person to say that one needs to exercise caution, I am also the first to say that there are millions more stories that we don’t hear about safe and pleasurable travels to these same locales. Take Mexico for example. The media continues to report on the increase of drug related violence in Mexico. The Department of State issued a travel warning for Mexico in September, educating readers about danger zones for drug trafficking and violence in the state. However the very same warning also notes that millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year.

So how do we make an informed and rational decision regarding a particular destination? Start on the web by visiting the Department of State Current Travel Warnings. The above referenced department travel warning for Mexico says resort areas and tourist destinations do not see the levels of drug-related violence and crime reported in border regions and areas along major drug trafficking routes.

Then, when traveling, whether abroad or at home, travel smartly. It’s always wise to do your homework. A good guidebook should list available phone numbers for police, fire and ambulance services for your destination. You should also be able to get up to date information on any local safety issues from your hotel.

If you prefer to avoid the more popular tourist routes and destinations do your best to limit your travels and site-seeing to daytime hours. Don’t flash money (consider keeping your cash and cards in a security wallet) or expensive jewelry. And above all else, if something doesn’t feel right to you, trust your instincts.

by Bob Bestor

Every winter, great portions of Ashland’s modest little 9-hole golf course turn into a swampy and boggy mess that swallows golf balls and threatens to suck the shoes right off your feet with every step. I had just tromped through yet another waterlogged fairway looking for yet another plugged golf ball when I first heard the rumor. It was late 1997 or early 1998 and the rumor was that “some rich guy” had bought land on the Oregon coast near Bandon and was building a traditional, Scottish-style course.

Like all golfers who dream of playing the iconic links of Scotland and Ireland I was more than just a little intrigued. During a post-round pint with my foursome, however, we all became a bit skeptical. Who outside of Oregon had even heard of Bandon? Who in their right mind would invest the time and money to build in such a remote location? And who would ever fly to Portland and then drive another four hours to get to Bandon?

Soon thereafter the rumor was confirmed to be true and it seemed that every golfer in southern Oregon had Bandon Dunes on their brain. What little details there were caused speculation to run wild. The “rich guy” was a greeting card magnate who had already built a couple of courses. He had a reputation as a perfectionist who loved golf and in particular loved the feel, the challenge and the rugged natural beauty of Scotland’s greatest golf courses.

Prior to its official opening day of May 1^st 1999, there were already reports from local golfing insiders, pros, and greens keepers who had been able to play preview rounds that Bandon Dunes was the real deal. Nothing short of a fabulous links course on some of the most ruggedly beautiful land the west coast of North America has to offer.

So in early May of 1999 I found myself, along with my Dad, paying my greens fees to a couple of guys in a small shack next door to a half-built lodge and on the edge of an empty parking lot. We had the place to ourselves that day and amazingly it exceeded our very high expectations. Neither of us had played an ocean side links golf course before and it was great fun playing through the towering and rolling dunes. And despite the strong wind and rain (typical Oregon coastal weather) it was a great, great day.

Twelve years later the facility has grown to boast four world-class courses, a par-three course and a practice facility that is as big as our 9-hole muni here in Ashland. It also features several on site restaurants and pubs and about 200 guest rooms.

At Bandon Dunes it’s all about the golf. There are no spa treatments, no Jacuzzis, no live entertainment and no diversions for the kiddies. So it’s really not a couple’s destination unless both like to golf. And it is definitely not a family resort.

In addition to the golf courses being top notch, the service throughout the facility, including greens keepers, wait staff, shuttle drivers and check-in staff is all excellent. The feel of the service is neither elegant nor fancy. Instead it is one of friendly competence, efficiency and understated enthusiasm. To me it’s just right.

The only drawback is that Bandon Dunes is now so renowned and successful that a round of golf during the summer months runs an eye-popping $225 for resort guests and $275 for non-resort guests.

Fortunately Bandon offers winter packages that are just as eye-popping in their value. I’ve managed to get over to Bandon every winter for the past six years, taking advantage of the value deals, and this winter was no exception. In December, our $390 per person package included two rounds of golf, two nights accommodation, two buffet breakfasts and one dinner. A fabulous value for as good a golfing experience you can hope for. These packages are not listed on the resort’s web site so you’ll need to call. Prices vary slightly depending on which winter month you book.

Everyone’s favorite Irish holiday is fast approaching, and we’re feeling the St. Patrick’s Day spirit here at Travel Essentials. Whether you’re Irish and proud or just a fan of corned beef and green beer, you’ll be able to have some fun this March 17th.

If you’re looking for a great place to celebrate this Irish holiday, you’re in luck because St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated all over the world. Here’s a list of the seven best places around the world to celebrate – including Dublin, Ireland; New York City; Chicago; Sydney, Australia; and surprisingly Buenos Aires, Argentina, which has a huge Irish population. All of these cities have huge celebrations, parades, green fountains and rivers. If you’re looking for a big Irish party, these cities are great places to pass the holiday.

If you’re looking for someplace that’s a little less focused on spectacle, how about a stop in an Irish pub? We found a list of the top ten Irish Pubs in the United States – ranging from New York City, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, and even Portland, Oregon. These are places where you’ll find Guiness on tap, plenty of traditional Irish foods, live Irish music and fine whiskeys to be enjoyed.

But what if you want to pay homage to Ireland from the comfort of your own home? Pick up a bottle of Michael Collins Irish Whiskey and cook your own Irish feast. In the United States we usually opt for corned beef and cabbage – which is a great Irish-American dish. Whether you boil or bake your corned beef, you’re bound to have a satisfying meal. You’ll find a variety of recipes here with gorgeous photos accompanying. And, if you’d like to read a history of why the Irish are credited with serving corned beef, follow this link. Or if you’re looking for something less Irish-American and more Irish, this recipe for boiling bacon and cabbage is a delicious example of something you’d find served in an Irish home, where pork is king.

A recent New York Times article explains that some European countries are trying to encourage tourism to help out their struggling economies by offering great deals on hotels and tourism in their cities. Local tour companies are also offering deals in order to boost sales during hard times. You can find the NY Times article here, but you may have to log in to read it. We’ve summarized the deals below.

Ireland
Ireland’s tourism was severely truncated by the Icelandic volcano eruption last year. Down more than a million visitors from the year before, the Irish tourism industry is anxious to get your business. For example, Sceptre Tours is offering a package deal that includes airfare from New York, accommodations in a villa for six nights, and a week’s car rental. And for all of this, they’re charging only $899 (if four are traveling – they also offer packages from 2 to 6 people). Visit their site to see available dates and learn more.

CIE Tours International is also offering some amazing tours of the United Kingdom, including a discount for couples traveling to Ireland, Scotland, England or Wales. Finally, Ashford Castle has reduced its rates across the board, meaning that you can rent the same room for more than a hundred dollars less than normal pricing. Check out their websites for details.

Portugal
According to the Portuguese National Tourist Office, hotel rates have come down between 14 and 18 percent of late. A night at the brand new LX Boutique Hotel starts at just 80 euros. The Bussaco Palace Hotel is offering an “affordable luxury” package from 120 euros a night that includes buffet breakfast, a bottle of wine and a free upgrade to a larger room when available.

For deals on less traditional accommodations, visit Pousadas.pt. A group run by the government, they showcase more unique places to stay like castles, manor houses, and old monasteries that have been converted for travelers. The group is offering reduced prices through March.

Greece
In an attempt to help out a struggling economy, the Greek government has lowered its VAT Tax  (a tax that hotels charge tourists) from 11 percent to only 6.5 percent. The economy has also prompted hotels to lower their own rates before the tax breaks. For example, world class resort, Elounda Beach has slashed its rates. As have the Tablet Hotel and the hotel Periscope. And finally, if you’re looking for activities, Viator.com is offering discounts on excursions from Athens.